This impressive cauldron, a wedding gift, is one of the true masterpieces of piece-mold casting. The delicate interweave, fine lineation and granulation exhibited here have seldom been equaled even in modern foundries. Because the carved ceramic piece-molds used to make these utensils were destroyed in the casting process, they were not reused. However, there is a nearly identical sister piece to this vessel in the Freer Gallery of Art. Both vessels are inscribed "The esteemed chien of the Son of the ruler of Chin." Chih was a ruling family of the Chin state which was conquered in 453 b.c. It is reported that the two vessels were unearthed in 1938 at Hui-hsien in Honan province.

China's piece-mold process arose independently from the West's lost wax method. The piece-mold method reveals Shang China's very advanced ceramic abilities.

Basic outline of piece-mold casting:

1. A simple clay model (without decoration) of the vessel shape is made and left to dry a bit.
   
2. Clay is then shaped over this model and let to dry to a leather-hard stage.
   
3. The outer layer of clay is then sliced off into sections and decorated by incising designs into the clay.
   
4. Then this carved outer mold is pieced together.
   
5. The original model is used as an interior form to make the vessel hollow. The outer mold is attached to the inner form at a few points.
   
6. The bronze is poured in.
   
7. After cooling, the inner and outer molds are broken away from the vessel.
   
8. Spurs and imperfections are filed away.

The method of casting influenced the appearance of Shang dynasty bronze vessels. Because the artisans worked on one section of the vessel at a time, most Shang bronzes have a "divided up" or architectonic quality to their design.

ORIGIN
Most of the MIA's Shang bronzes probably originated from the site of Anyang, Honan. Anyang is an enormous site that we know from written records (oracle bones) was the last capital of the Shang dynasty. Excavations began there in 1928, were interrupted only by World War II, and continue today. The site is divided into three parts: buildings; workshops, foundries, and kilns; and an immense royal graveyard with enormous tombs. The city was surrounded by the countryside from which the food supply came.

By the 20th century, all of the large royal tombs had been looted, leaving only remnants of the treasure that had been buried. The majority of the vessels taken from these tombs ended up in Western and Japanese collections.

One can guess at how rich these tombs were by the 1975 find of a small unlooted tomb. It belonged to a woman named Fu Hao who was the courtesan and military general for the Shang king Wu Ding. In her tomb were found bronzes, jades, and bone carvings. 750 jades were found in her tomb alone!

In addition to taking worldly goods with them, the Shang also practiced human and animal sacrifice. Remains of humans have been found in foundations of buildings, sacrificial pits, trenches, and in royal tombs. Archaeologists believe that most of the sacrificial victims were prisoners of war. Hundreds of victims were beheaded and put into royal tombs.

Some types of heavy bronze axes are particularly associated with human sacrifice. These axes have been found in the outer trenches of large tombs. The same type of axes are illustrated in inscriptions, where they are poised to decapitate victims.

BRONZE SHAPES
I. Vessels
Most Shang and Chou dynasty bronze vessels appear to be special eating and drinking implements. The vessels are based on Neolithic ceramic prototypes that were used to cook in, eat from, drink or pour water and wine from.

The great majority of Shang bronzes are wine vessels. Later the Shang acquired the reputation for being drunkards. While this might have been true, it is more accurate to say that wine was an important part of Shang ritual ceremonies, as evidenced by the number of wine vessels.

The Western Chou dynasty eliminated the most popular wine vessels of the Shang (the ku and the chueh) and replaced them with an increased repertoire of food and water vessels. Although the Western Chou continued to cast wine vessels, their number and therefore their importance decreased. Two reasons have been put forward for this shift in vessel types. First, the Chou wanted to separate themselves from the disgraced Shang and their behavior. Second, the Chou practiced a very different religion from the Shang and naturally would have different ceremonial needs (see Western Chou file).

A) Size
The bronze vessels in the MIA are somewhat misleading in size. When compared to bronzes in other collections, they are much smaller in size. Some bronze vessels have been discovered that are over 5 feet high and weigh as much as 4 tons!

B) Actual Use
Through scientific excavations we now know that most Chinese bronzes were produced in sets that were probably used in ritual ceremonies before they were buried. Sometimes these sets were split up and handed down as heirlooms. Some burials contain bronzes from a number of different time periods. Certain vessel types were paired with others; for example: the ku (gu) and chueh (jue), and the fang-yi (fang-i) and tsun (zun). Although some excavated vessels have remnants of food in them, almost all were used ritually. They were too heavy and too elaborate to be used routinely.

II. Other types of bronzes
A) Musical Instruments: bells and drums. The MIA owns a number of Eastern Chou bells (Chung/Zhong) that belonged to larger sets. Ceremonial and court music was played on these sets which usually numbered 5 to 12 bells.
B) Weapons: The MIA owns all sorts of bronze swords, halberds, and axes, most dating from the Shang and Western Chou periods.
C) Decorations: finials, pole tops, etc.
D) Chariot Fittings: wheel caps from Shang and Chou chariot burials.
E) Belt Hooks for pinning together loose robes, from the Eastern Chou period.
F) Lamps, lamp supports, and furniture supports usually in the form of humans or animals.

SHANG BRONZE DECORATION

BASIC STYLE
Mainstream Shang bronzes have been divided up into five chronological styles. (Loehr 42-53) "Mainstream" bronzes are those that originated from Anyang, the last capital of the Shang dynasty. Most of the MIA Shang vessels illustrate the three later styles. Sometimes these styles appear simultaneously on a single vessel. One style does not necessarily disappear with the advent of a new bronze style.

FIVE BRONZE STYLES
Style I: thread-like raised decoration
Style II: ribbon-like raised decoration
Style III: dense, fluid, and curvilinear designs, often feather or quill-like extensions; design is flush with the background
Style IV: design is still flush with the background, but the idea of separation within the ornament is introduced; the main motifs are done in wider bands or made more three-dimensional
Style V: an elaboration of Style IV-except that the main motifs are now rendered in high relief (more three-dimensionally)

SHANG BRONZE MOTIFS

T'ao T'ieh (tao tie)
The t'ao t'ieh is an animal mask that appears on almost every Shang bronze vessel. The significance of the t'ao t'ieh is unclear. The term was not used by the Shang themselves, but was coined by Sung Dynasty (12th century A.D.) antiquarians. They in turn borrowed it from a late Chou dynasty book (Lu Shih Chun Ch'in) which talked about a monster that was so greedy it ate its own body. Unfortunately, there is no relationship between this monster (written of several hundred years later) and the image on the Shang bronzes.

There has been a steady stream of scholarly articles that claim the t'ao t'ieh really represents a tiger, a dragon, a water buffalo, etc. Yet, because there is no written confirmation, none of these theories can be proved or disproved. One possible idea is that it represents the Shang deity or god around which their religious art centered. Still no one can really know until some written proof is discovered.

The fantastic mask is magical in itself as it contains an optical trick. At first glance one can see the elements of the face, such as the eyes, horns, and jaws. However, when one covers up half of it, there appears to be two creatures (dragons) that meet in profile at the center. Each horn, eye, and jaw belongs to a separate being whose body stretches out into lower claws and an upper tail. One cannot see both at the same time, recalling the more famous optical trick of the rabbit/duck.

CHOU BRONZE DECORATION

WESTERN CHOU BRONZE STYLES
Western Chou bronze styles can be divided into three chronological stages:
Stage I: Continues and develops Shang shapes and decor, but done with more drama and aggressiveness.

Stage II: Vessels take on smoother shapes and their decoration mainly consists of birds rendered in narrow, modulated ribbons.

Stage III: (Called Middle Chou in Sherman Lee.) Decoration is done in pure abstract patterns.

Western Zhou begins with clearly defined motifs but these gradually become more abstract. One reason that the decoration on Western Chou bronzes becomes increasingly abstract is that the primary function of the vessel was to carry inscriptions. Inscriptions of the Western Chou period are longer and more explanatory than those of the Shang. They record history, seal power transfers, and bless weddings. The emphasis is on the activities and concerns of the living versus the concerns of the afterlife.

EASTERN CHOU BRONZE STYLES
Unlike the logical progression of the Shang and Western Chou bronzes, it is very difficult to discuss Eastern Chou bronzes in terms of a chronological development. Rather, the incredible variety of aesthetic taste and technique seen in Eastern Chou bronzes reflect the divided nature of China at this time. Over the centuries the royal family of Chou lost power and prestige. When their capital at Hao was attacked in 711 B.C., none of their so-called vassal states came to their aid. Thus they had to move east to Loyang in order to escape complete devastation. There they set up a new capital, but they ruled only in name, not in fact. China without central rule broke up into numerous states ruled over by lords. Each state developed its own court rules, language variation, literature, and artistic style. In fact, China at this time was more like Europe, a group of states with similar origins. It was not unified politically or culturally.

The Eastern Chou bronzes in the MIA reflect this diversity. Their importance as ritual vessels or as vehicles for inscriptions waned. Wishing to impress their living contemporaries, the lords commissioned bronzes that were impressive visually and technically. For example, the great water basin (Ch'ien, 50.46.103) from Shaanxi, is a tour de force of piece-moldcasting. The outlines for the registers are made to look like simple rope, while the in-fill of the registers is made up of a profusion of feathers, claws, and curls that rise, fall, and interlace in varying degrees of relief.

MIA INLAID EASTERN CHOU TING
(Jacobsen 185) Casting during the Eastern Chou period advanced rapidly. Artisans became interested in the possibilities of flat design created by inlay of other precious materials: silver, gold, turquoise, and glass. This was an art very different in spirit from the ideas of the sculptural piece-mold castings. Here a lot of "cold-working" of metal took place. First the vessel was cast, leaving grooves and holes for the inlay. Metals such as the softer silver and gold were warmed and pushed into these grooves, cut, and smoothed down. This method creates a beautiful, glowing decoration.

The form of this Eastern Chou ting (a vessel on three or four legs) is very different from a Western Chou ting (compare for example 50.46.105).

• It has a smooth rounded profile with liquid-like curved cabriole legs. Western Chou vessels, in contrast, are more dynamic and square.
  
• The legs are subtly attached to the body, emphasizing the easy curve.
  
• The decoration is interlocking triangles with curved ends, rather than heart-shaped.
  
• The decoration is arranged in tiers using the gold and silver for contrasting effects.
  
• The cover was designed to be used as a plate when turned over on its three animal-like legs. It is decorated with six swirling dragons.
  
• The emphasis is on beauty over ritual. Bronzes were now used as an indication of power and influence of the owner. They are more of a knick-knack, a possession, than a holy object used for ritual or historical purposes.

In the press of these chaotic times, and the fearful consequences they hold forth, one's thoughts turn to the plight of many peoples, but to none with more sympathy, perhaps, than to the Chinese, whose spirit has persisted unbroken through centuries of upheaval. Disquiet often enters into the thought of them, and one wonders if they will be able to withstand this late and most shattering attack upon their civilization. To the doubtful, there can be no more positive reassurance than to look on the great achievements of their past, represented most fully in the Institute by the bronze ritual vessels in the Alfred F. Pillsbury Collection. Here are actual relics of the first highly civilized Chinese people. In them one sees the early symbols of a religious faith so strong it was able to insure the continuity of Chinese civilization. When hope wears thin one has only to look at them to know, with absolute certainty, that China will survive. Moreover, they remove one's thoughts temporarily from the little, troubled moment of today—this convulsion that assumes gigantic proportions for us because we are living through it—and casts them upon a stage so vast that centuries are lost upon it. Returning from any such contemplation of the immensity of time, one finds he has acquired a new perspective; new strength to cope with what the moment offers.That these bronzes speak thus compellingly across a gulf of some three thousand years is a tribute to the artists who created them. For all its enigmatic quality, their message is as strong and vibrant now as then; once heard, it cannot be forgotten. This sense of communication with the past, together with its vigorous phrasing, is perhaps the chief factor in the appeal of bronzes such as those assembled by Mr. Pillsbury. Already widely known by lovers of Chinese art, this collection has attained a new peak of distinction by reason of recent additions, among which a late Chou basin is of extraordinary beauty. To represent these bronzes, even with the most superficial comment, might be characterized as presumptuous on the part of any but the most scholarly student of Chinese art. Nevertheless, they are here recorded as having become a part of the Pillsbury Collection because knowledge of their existence and present situation is in itself of interest to those to whom the world looks for further enlightenment on the subjects of Chinese art and history.The recent additions, the latest made in January, 1941, cover the four great periods of Chinese bronze art, here dated according to the Karlgren system: Shang (Yin), 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C.; early Chou (Yin-Chou), 1122 B.C. to about 950 B.C.; Middle Chou, about 950 B.C. to about 650 B.C.; late Chou (Huai), about 650 B.C. to about 200 B.C. Recently, in consideration of the close alliance between Shang and early Chou examples, Mr. Karlgren has grouped the two under the single head of Archaic period. The bronzes lately acquired by Mr. Pillsbury—two tsun, a yu, a p'an, and a chien—represent these various periods.The earliest piece is a tsun of the Shang period from An Yang; a finely proportioned vessel with the stamp of elegance and virility characteristic of Shang bronze art. It presents a form of tsun hitherto unrepresented in the collection, and is therefore of special interest. In this type of body is large and rather squat with a deeply flaring rim and a narrower, slightly flared base. The all-over decoration, interrupted by scored flanges, occupies four areas: the body, base, shoulders, and throat. The décor consists of dragons and monster masks on a spiral background, the throat band of dragons being terminated by a border of rising blades. Three bovine heads, vigorously modelled in high relief, adorn the shoulders.This bronze is a fine example of the An Yang style; well-proportioned, the decoration suggestive of powerful forces held in strict control, the casting excellent. It has a brilliant green patina, exceptionally heavy over most of the body, with small areas of paler green and some dark blue. The harmony of these colors with the silver of the metal, where the surface has been cleaned, contributes to the striking character of the piece, which is one of the most commanding in the collection.The second tsun is the large beaker type already represented in the collection. It might be dated at the end of Shang or the beginning of Chou, for while it displays all the stylistic elements characteristic of the former, it has an exuberant, slightly swaggering quality associated with the latter. If it was made after the conquest of the Shangs by the Chous in 1122, it was done by a Shang craftsman whose spirit had not yet been broken.When the Chou barbarians overthrew the Shangs, according to Herlee G. Creel in his Birth of China, they applied themselves enthusiastically to the task of appropriating Shang culture, and tried, in many ways, to make themselves as much like the conquered race as possible. They not only recognized the superiority of Shang culture, but insisted upon it, and felt both proud and capable of taking it over and carrying it on to even greater heights. Certainly they must have viewed with wonder many of the refinements of Shang civilization, wallowing in the delights offered by it, and keeping the Shank craftsmen, now slaves, busy fulfilling their various needs. But when the spirit of a race dies the spark that animated the creative genus of that race also dies, as may be observed in parallel situations in our own time. Thus in one sense the Chous destroyed the culture they so ardently admired by their eagerness to perpetuate it.That this outcome was not an immediate consequence of the conquest is evidenced by certain bronzes attributed to the early Chou period, of which Mr. Pillsbury's tsun may be one. The décor is bold and lively, the casting superb. Four rising blades, ornamented with vertical dragons, and the body and base carry large monster masks divided vertically by broad pierced and segmented flanges. The bronzes dark and clean, with a slight patination of blue, red, and grey-green. The inscription under the base has not been translated.In sharp contrast with this boldly handsome vessel is the yu, which must date from the very early years of the Chou dynasty. It has a suave and graceful character that is accentuated by the band of crouching deer around the throat and cover, and by the soft grey-green water patina with its spots of red rust. The handle, finished with realistic ram's heads, is decorated with a band of stylized cicadas in thin relief. A bovine head in relief appears in the throat band on each side of the vessel.The provenance of this yu, once thought to have been the Chang-sha region, is not known. Altogether it is something of a puzzle, which the lengthy inscription, appearing in both the bottom and cover, may yet satisfactorily clear up. The yu is recorded in the Catalogue Hsi Ching Ku Chien, pp. 9, 10, 11, 12, in Volume 15. There is some indication, in two seals accompanying the inscription, that it passed from the imperial treasure store of Ch'ien Lung to a certain Pan Tsu-yin, a famous mid-nineteenth century collector of ancient bronzes, after the Opium War between China and Great Britain. This speculation, not completely substantiated, may prove false. In the meanwhile, the vessel presents an interesting problem to the student of Chinese art. It is an ingratiating piece, of an extremely rare type insofar as the décor is concerned, and one that strikes an interesting note in Mr. Pillsbury's collection.The p'an, dating from the Middle Chou period, represents the type of bronze created by the Chous after they had thrown off the influence of the Shang culture. It is bold and forceful, with the rapacious quality that reflects the gangster spirit of Middle Chou bronzes. The characteristic broad figured band of the period, which decorates the base and bowl, is forthright and uninspired, but the animals forming the handles are modelled with strength and imagination. Both the crouching buffalo, reminiscent in spirit and pose of Mr. Pillsbury's buffalo in the round, and the horned beasts striding up the body of the p'an to bite the rim, are superbly done. The impression of ruthlessness they convey is extraordinarily acute, and sends one's imagination down fearsome byways.With the close of the Middle Chou period a new spirit began to manifest itself in Chinese bronze art. Delicate, all-over tracery replaced the coarse, somewhat heavy-handed decorative scheme of the Middle Chou, and elements borrowed from the Shangs were employed with an unprecedented lightness of touch. Dragons become playful and the t'ao t'ieh is transformed from the awe-inspiring creature of the Shangs to an amiable monster who only pretends to be ferocious. A number of the Middle Chou vessel types were preserved, but new ones were also introduced. Among the innovations was the chien basin, illustrated by the beautiful example acquired by Mr. Pillsbury in January. This piece, and its companion now in the Freer Gallery, must surely express the late Chou (Huai) style at its peak. The vessel may be dated about 479 B.C., and the inscription states that “This admirable basin belongs to the Chun-tsu [gentleman] of Chih.” Chun-tsu was the word which Confucius used to describe his ideal man.The simple form of the basin, with its uniform light green patina, provides a splendid foil for the rich and beautifully designed bands encircling the body. These are composed of enlaced dragons, so disposed that the heads face alternately up and down, and are separated from each other by a narrow braided band in lower relief. Projecting from the central dragon band, and terminating close to the rim in fantastic, horned animal heads, are four handles, two of them completed with loose rings. The whole is executed with a mastery and elegance that border on the exquisite, inappropriate as such a term may sound in conjunction with ancient Chinese bronzes. It has no longer the mysterious and disturbing quality of Shang pieces. It speaks a language closer to our own experience, and is without a doubt one of the loveliest pieces of bronze ever to have come out of China. Upon seeing it, one experiences the desire to stroke it, following with his finger tips its intricate and bewildering curves.Indeed, this sensation may be just the one that maker wished to arouse, for James M. Menzies states, in the Catalogue of An Exhibition of Chinese Bronzes held at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1940, that one of the words in the inscription, here translated “admirable,” has also the meaning of something to be fondled and to be enjoyed for the sake of its beauty. If such were the intention behind it, another message is transmitted, through the medium of ritual bronzes, from ancient China to the contemporary world: that beauty is something to be cherished for its own sake. The form of beauty is a subject of endless and fascinating discussion, but the fact of beauty, by whatever devious route one reaches it, is universally accepted as a means of enriching life. To lovers of ancient Chinese art such enrichment can be found in no greater degree than that offered by the Pillsbury Collection of Chinese bronzes.Referenced Works of Art

1. Bronze Wine Vessel of the Tsun Group from an Yang Chinese, Shang period. Lent by Alfred F. Pillsbury.
2. Chinese Bronze Vessel of the Tsun Group. Late Shang or early Chou period. Lent by Alfred F. Pillsbury.
3. Bronze Wine Vessel of the Yu Group. Chinese, early Chou period. Lent by Alfred F. Pillsbury.
4. Bronze P'an. In form and decoration this vessel is characteristic of middle Chou bronze art. Lent by Alfred F. Pillsbury.
5. Bronze Basin of the Chien Type. A superb example of late Chou bronze art. Lent by Alfred F. Pillsbury.